Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller has replaced Sen. C. Anthony Muse on the Finance Committee with Sen. Victor R. Ramirez, Miller's office confirmed Thursday. The switch, which replaces one Prince George's County Democrat with another, was first reported on the Washington Post's web site.

Muse was one of three Democrats who joined committee Republicans in firmly opposing O'Malley wind bill last year. Finance Committee Chairman Thomas M. "Mac" Middleton, a Charles County Democrat, said that with Ramirez on the panel, the chances that O'Malley will win approval of his top remaining environmental priority are much improved.

Miller said this week that he expects the wind legislation to be approved this year -- the third time O'Malley will have backed such a measure. But the Senate president's office said last night that the switch was not made solely for the purpose of advancing one bill.

Muse will replace Ramirez on the Judicial Proceedings Committee, which handles such highly contentious issues of crime and punishment as the death penalty. Both Ramirez and Muse are considered to be proponents of death penalty repeal, so the change would not change the panel's current 6-5 lineup against repeal.

Muse would become the second African-American on Judicial Proceedings, along with Baltimore's Sen. Lisa Gladden, the vice chair. Miller said he has heard criticism that black senators were underrepresented in that panel.

The Senate president has said that if O'Malley can muster the support on the floor to pass a repeal bill, he will find a way to get the measure to an up-or-down vote.

Muse, elected in 2006, has more seniority than the freshman Ramirez, but the new Finance member is generally regarded as more of a team player. Last year, Muse ran a quixotic primary campaign against U.S. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, losing badly after receiving little support from his Democratic colleagues.

A call to Muse was not immediately returned.

Senate Minority Leader E. J. Pipkin, an Eastern Shore Republican who sits on the Finance Committee, said his party would continue to fight the wind bill and wouldn't concede that it has the votes to pass.

Pipkin, who said wind power was too expensive and runs the risk of turbine damage in storms such as Sandy, called O'Malley's proposal "one of the dumbest" he's seen in the 10 years he's been in Annapolis.

Republican Gov. Larry Hogan pledged bipartisanship and offered a conciliatory tone during his snowy inauguration Wednesday, promising "to create an environment of trust and cooperation, where the best ideas rise to the top based on upon their merit."

Advocates for programs spending state dollars on stem cell research or investment in technology companies were nervous about what Gov. Larry Hogan's budget would hold for them, given warnings of "strong medicine" to cure fiscal woes.

Calling it a first step toward fully restoring the death penalty in Maryland, Del. Pat McDonough said he plans to introduce a bill that would mandate capital punishment for anyone convicted of killing a police or correctional officer, a firefighter or witness during the performance of their duty.

Marilyn J. Mosby was formally sworn in as Baltimore's top prosecutor Thursday night, and pledged to work for justice for crime victims, the innocent, and minorities who are affected disproportionately by the legal system.

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley has rarely exercised his power to grant clemency to convicted criminals over his two terms, even as many gubernatorial counterparts have been more lenient amid a changing attitude toward these acts of mercy.